Title: Manufacturability and assembly aspects of an advanced cable gland design for an electrical motor drive

Authors: Juha-P. Strom, Pertti Silventoinen, Harri Eskelinen

Addresses: Department of Electrical Engineering, Lappeenranta University of Technology, P.O. Box 20, FIN-53851 Lappeenranta, Finland. ' Department of Electrical Engineering, Lappeenranta University of Technology, P.O. Box 20, FIN-53851 Lappeenranta, Finland. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lappeenranta University of Technology, P.O. Box 20, FIN-53851 Lappeenranta, Finland

Abstract: At present, typical motor junction boxes do not incorporate cable glands, which would provide good electrical performance in terms of electromagnetic compatibility and ease of use, especially regarding the grounding connection. In this paper, a manufacturability and assembly analysis for the new construction of a rigid body feeder cable junction of an electric motor is presented especially for converter drives. Design for manufacturing and assembly aspects are presented in detail. One of the novelty values of the paper is to estimate the manufacturability with respect to the product|s performance. Further, assembling and mounting the cable gland should be made easy, and the need of various tools and installing stages should be eliminated. The new connector design makes mounting easy and installation stages are minimised. The electrical performance of the cable gland is also measured and verified in a real environment for glands constructed with steel and zinc coated steel.

Keywords: design engineering; design for manufacturing; design for assembly; DFM; DFA; electrical drives; steel; electromagnetic interference; EMI; precision casting; cable gland design; cable glands; motor junction boxes; manufacturability; converter drives; product performance; connector design.

DOI: 10.1504/IJDE.2009.028445

International Journal of Design Engineering, 2009 Vol.2 No.1, pp.26 - 46

Published online: 17 Sep 2009 *

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